St. Helena to the Caribbean - Day 11

Harmonie
Don and Anne Myers
Wed 23 Jan 2013 14:01
00:45.691S  29:44.630W
 
January 23, 2013
 
Waiting for the wind.
We are just 42 miles south of the equator, and still waiting for the southeast wind to turn east.  As well as the southeast wind has served us over the past eleven days, it's time now to say good-bye so we can point more to the west and less to the north.  The wind forecast is obviously confused because it indicated the east wind would arrive 36 hours ago.  It's late.  We don't mind sailing slowly with what's left of the southeast wind, but its southerly tendency is causing us to point 20 degrees further to the north than we'd like to.  It's like wanting to go to Buffalo from Syracuse, but ending up in Watertown instead - both routes will get you to Canada, but you'll end up at the wrong end of the lake.  How's that for an analogy upstate New Yorkers can relate to?  Anyway, yesterday afternoon, we broke down and turned on the engine for the first time since leaving St. Helena.  Motorsailing allowed us to point directly toward our destination, and make good headway overnight.  Today we are back sailing again with the downwind rig, but once again pointing 20 degrees further to the north than we'd like.  We could take down the downwind rig, point directly toward our destination, and sail with the wind 150 degrees off the bow, but we'd go mighty slowly in this light wind, and our progress would be slower than it is now.  Ah well, the wind will turn.  It will.  We just have to cross the equator and get beyond this slightly doldrum-y area to where the more boisterous northeast trade winds are sure to be waiting for us. 
 
We hear it's slightly chilly at home.  This would certainly be the place to come for a quick warm-up.  The sweaty gray clouds are back and we are experiencing the typically unsettled weather often found around the equator.  It's very, very mild compared to the ITCZ mess we experienced in the Indian Ocean around the equator last year though.  There has been a little rain, but no big wind and no lightning.  There's enough heat and humidity to remind us the equator is very near.  It's nice to know all of this will subside in a few days when we reach the upper half of the world and start moving away from the center.
 
Tomorrow will be a big day for us - our fourth equator crossing and passing the half-way point of this passage.  We are working on celebration plans.  At the moment, we are celebrating a working freezer (Don has been busy).  We don't have high hopes for a full recovery, but a blast of cold air on what's left of the thawed meat pile won't hurt.
 
Hey - the bank of clouds behind us just brought a blast of higher wind from the east!  Aha!  Maybe the wait is over?
11 days down, 12-ish to go.
Anne